MY ACCOUNT
Tammy Abraham turned in a goal assisted by Paulo Dybala as Roma battled to a 1-1 draw at Juventus to leave both sides unbeaten after three Serie A matches.
Roma had won their first two games without conceding but were behind to a sublime Dusan Vlahovic free-kick after 76 seconds – the forward’s fastest strike in the competition.
After being held to a 0-0 draw by Sampdoria last time out, Juve looked far brighter in an attacking sense and had a second goal through Manuel Locatelli contentiously ruled out.
Jose Mourinho’s side hit back in the second half when ex-Juve man Dybala’s apparent attempt at goal turned into an assist for Abraham, meaning the points were shared in Turin.
Vlahovic managed just eight touches of the ball in last week’s stalemate with Sampdoria but required just one touch to fire Juve in front against Roma.
The Serbia international left Rui Patricio stranded to the spot with a 25-yard free-kick that he lifted over the wall and into the back of the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Locatelli thought he had doubled Juve’s lead when firing in a first-time effort from outside the box, but VAR ruled it out due to a perceived handball from Vlahovic in the build-up.
That proved a big moment in the match as Abraham levelled up for Roma with 69 minutes played after heading in Dybala’s acrobatic volley back into the six-yard box.
Dybala was met with a mixture of jeers and cheers when substituted soon after, with neither side able to find a winner in the remainder of the contest.
What does it mean? Mourinho’s men battle to a point
Roma’s opening two games followed a similar pattern, with Mourinho’s men grind out a couple of 1-0 victories, but that blueprint went out of the window here inside two minutes.
The Giallorossi had fallen to defeat in 10 of their past 11 league visits to the Allianz Stadium, but they really do appear to be made of sterner stuff this season under Mourinho.
Thanks to Abraham’s equaliser, Mourinho avoided losing against an opponent three times in a row for only the second time, having previously lost four times against Liverpool.
Deadly Dusan on target
Vlahovic had just 35 touches of the ball across the first two matchdays in Serie A, the lowest of any outfielder in the division to have played all 180 minutes.
He had 22 touches against Roma and showed his quality with a goal from a direct free-kick – Juve’s first in the league since Cristiano Ronaldo against Torino in July 2020.
Dybala haunts former side
Three months after tearfully departing Turin, Dybala was back and he made an impact against his former side with the assist for Abraham’s equaliser.
The Argentina international may have been going for goal or deliberately attempting to pick out a team-mate, but either way Abraham was there for his first goal of the season.
Key Opta Facts
– Juventus are unbeaten in their past five games against Roma in Serie A (W3 D2), which is their best streak since 2012.
– Vlahovic’s goal after 76 seconds is the fastest direct free-kick goal in Serie A since the data was first made available (2004-05). The previous fastest goal from a direct free-kick was Emanuele Giaccherini for Bologna against Lazio in January 2016 (79 seconds).
– Patricio conceded his first Serie A goal for Roma after keeping out the opposition for 361 minutes.
– Roma conceded goal after a four-game run in which they had kept four clean sheets in all competitions.
– Abraham has equalled Trevor Francis (18) as the joint-third top-scoring English player in Serie A (only Gerald Hitchens with 59 and David Platt with 31 have scored more).
What’s next?
Roma welcome Monza to Stadio Olimpico on their return to league action on Tuesday, while Juventus host Spezia the following day.
